The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1887-09-24
ENGLISH PLATE MARKS.
How the Assayers Work In Gold
smiths Hall.
[Jewelry News.l

[Jewelry News.1
Articles of plate are exempted from the
makers capricious desire to see his mark
upon his goods. The Goldsmith's Company,
associated as early as 1927, regularly incor-
porated seventy years later, in the reign of
Richard H., at present undertakes this duty.
AS the law now stands all articles of plate
manufactured in or near London must be
sent to Goldsmith's Hall, to be tested and to
be marked. For this assay they receive from
the manufacturers fees amounting to some
e50O0 or $4,000 year, and from the govern
ment fixed salary for collecting the ex-
else duty on gold and silver, and paying 1t
into the Bank Of England. The assayers ex-
ercise their functions with skill and impair
TALLY. Small particles are scraped off the
goods to be submitted to test, and these are
duly analysed. The assayers do not know,
and are not allowed to know, from whose
manufactured goods the particles have been
scraped off, but additional severity in the
test is adopted where any manufacturer is
found to have often sent goods below the
standard. The marks adopted by the Gold
smiths Hall are five in number, and each
has its own special significance. There Is
the sovereign's head, which indicates plainly
enough the reign. Next follows the lion
PEASANT; this Is the standard mark, and is
known to have been in use at the commence
men t of Queen Elizabeth's reign, but was
probably introduced in Henry Wits. The
price mark is impressed next to 1t and was
fixed by one OF those numerous acts which
were passed in William Ills reign to regu-
late and improve the condition Of coinage.
Two other impressions remain unaccounted
for One is the leopard's head, which is par
excellence the Hall mark, and the other Is
the makers mark. which from long custom
is added to the remaining four. But the pc
riod of the manufacture is not left to the
mere vagueness of the soyereign's reign. The
date letter" supplies the missing infOrma-
ton. Twenty letters of the alphabet are
used for this purpose, the series beginning
with the first, emitting j., and terminating
with U. On the 30th Of May, every letter is
changed, and the shape of the letter every
| tive lty years. Thus from 1896 to 1916 ordi-
nary capitals were employed. The letter d
VIC Id indicate that the article passed the
| Go4dsmith's Hall in 1879. With 1916 COM
menced the series Of small letters, so that a
| date letter Of d would fix the year as 1920.
| Old English capitals followed till 1856 and
the next series commenced with small Eng
| fish letters. These various alphabets are-of
| very old date, the earliest known c0pnmenc-
| ing with the year 1888. But theugh london
is the chief seat of manufacture Of plate in
England, there were other towns which had
their own assay offices and halls. Birming-
/ uiu q ldl 80 tld0t dhu Gull
| slant relations were established between the
1 local hall and Foster lane. For this purpose
! what was called diet box" passed at the
| end of the year from the country town to the
capital. The assayer in Birmingham scraped
| eight grains from every troy pound Of man
| u lctuied plate. -Four of these he at once
| /, aimed and assayed the other moiety was
carefully deposited in the diet box, which
contained specimens from all the articles
manufactured. Once year the box was
sent up to the capital. The Assay Master OF
the Royal Mint would then take fair aver
age Of all the small portions it contained and
solemnly make his assay. Ii the average
reached the standard, the local assayer re
ceived certificate; if not he was fined.
1t will thus be seen that there is cleal
difference in theory between the marks on
plate and on china. The latter are impressed
by the manufacturer, at his own choice and
fer his own benefit. The former are com.
pulsory, undertaken by monopolist compa
ny, who are paid for their services which the
public are forced to accept at their hands
The distinction suggests not merely impor-
tant privileges. but grave duties. We have
seen within the last few years the taste fol
Queen Anne furniture and for antiquities OF
all kinds spread into the region of plate and
| silverware. Forthwith the curiosity shops
seem to have been largely stocked with the
rarest and most desirable pieces Of old silver.
| The connoisseur, naturally at once wary and
confding, has found security in the hall
mark. That guaranteed the genuineness OF
what had become suspiciously plentiful.
And so with simple trust he bought largely
and was largely swindled. In some cases
the marks were forged. in others genuine
marks were inserted into modern plate
Imposture proceeded on so extensive scale
that the Goldsmiths' Company have at last
awakened to the Importance of the subject
and are resolved to put down the imposture
1t Is well to get this assurance even now.
But it comes rather late. In their own in.
terest in the interest of the public, and as
slight duty arising from substantial privil
eye, the Goldsmiths' Company should Ions
ago have shown this activity.